My veg friend raves about the vegetarian meals at Schwa. I ate with her there recently and indeed, from what I sampled from her plate, it was amazing. Could be tough to get in on the weekend. BUT it's BYOB with a super reasonable corkage fee. (The 9-course meal (at $110 per person) would exceed your budget. But they have another prix fixe option with less courses for $55.

I'm afraid I didn't like Swirlz at all either. Last night, I bought a red velvet cupcake and a vanilla cupcake there. The cake itself was nice. Moist. Pretty dense. But I really didn't like the frosting. Although they call it buttercream, it's not what I think of as a buttercream. It doesn't taste very buttery. It tastes more like whipping cream with a hint of butter. And it's not very sweet at all either. Nor is it generous. For me, it was a big thumbs down. And the $3 price tag per cupcake didn't help the experience any either.

Thanks for all the great suggestions, everyone! I hope to hit them all. My first report: the Fox and Obel cupcakes are tasty. We had the devil's food and the coconut at F&O last night. The second in particular was a big hit. Excellent buttercream frosting (though it did pull off like a cap when jostled). Looking forward to trying the rest.

I love White Linen. It's a true find. And a real asset for the neighborhood. For ready-to-go dinners. Gourmet sandwiches. Soups. Sauces. Even homemade croutons and hummus. The owners are passionate about what they do. And it shows. Try the green lentils and the broccolini. Yum. Oh and they now offer brunch on Saturday.

Much as I love Chicago, I went to Magnolia Bakery in NYC last month and ever since I've been searching fruitlessly for a comparable cupcake here in Chicago. So far, I've found Sweet Mandy B's frosting to taste too much of food coloring. And Southport Grocery's weren't all I'd hoped for either, despite the hype. Over a year ago, I went to Cupcakes in Lakeview and was sorely disappointed in the lack of Buttercream frosting. At least at that time. Any thoughts?